Which card setup?

[Tich]

Hey guys

I'm thinking about maybe getting a new graphics card ready for Battlefield 3 and Skyrim but i'm really not sure what to get.

My current setup:

Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H motherboard
AMD Phenom II 955 x4 3.2ghz processor (at stock speeds for now)
4gb Corsair XMS3 1600mhz ram
Antec TruePower New 650W Modular PSU
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1
Samsung SM2243BW 22" TFT Monitor

and my current card is:
BFG GTS250 OC Edition 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI PhysX and Cuda ready PCI-E Graphics Card

I play at 1680 x 1050 resolution. My motherboard is Crossfire X capable so I think switching to ATI is a given, but I've always had Nvidia and so don't really know the range very well.

Also choosing between 1 card, with or without the crossfire hybrid (is it any good) or 2 cards in full crossfire setup.

I would pay up to £250 overall but less is better. It doesn't have to be top end performance and most the 6850's look ok for just over £100 but i'm not sure how much performance increase I would see.

Also I really don't know how to judge power usage so need advice on what my psu can handle.

Any advice greatly appreciated as always.

 

[fowler002]

gtx570 or 6950 2gb or if you can stand to run in low setting and wait for the new nvidia and amd cards are due out in the coming months.

 

[j.col]

a standard hd5850 should handle most games at your resolution and can be got for around £100. or £80 ish used.
But then the hd6950 can be unlocked to a 6970...
also the hd6870's are on special offer for £120 all in. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18309920

 

[Surveyor]

But then the hd6950 can be unlocked to a 6970...

Very little chance of that with the cards currently available.

The best chance of an unlockable card out of those you can buy now seems to be the Sapphire TOXIC but there's still no guarantee.

 

[Tich]

I'm not going to get a card in the hope of it maybe unlocking into something better.
The 6850 looks good for the money but will there actually be much performance increase over my card? I'd hate to spend money with little to no noticable difference.

Also, is the crossfire hybrid worth using? I'm assuming my psu will be ok for these cards.

 

[fowler002]

can't say for a 6850 but will see a big improvement with a 570 or 6950.

 

[Tbid]

GTX 570 Twin Frozr III without a doubt.